Of Sea and Stars
by OceansAria
Summary: Jim Hawkins is a normal seventeen year old boy, working in his mother's inn during the summer before his senior year. All he's ever wanted is to be free and only worry about himself. What if one mermaid changes that? Ariel has always yearned to be human. The only way to remain human is by getting one to fall in love with her. And it may be a lot easier than it seems.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_Jim_

I was sitting on the strip of beach behind the Benbow Inn, minding my own business, when it all began.

I snuck out like this every night, disappearing after all the guests-and my mother-had gone to bed, and all the dishes were cleaned and put away until the next morning. At this time of the year, being the main tourist season, the Inn was jam-packed with families and middle-aged vacationers. Mom was exhausted. My arms ached from carrying luggage up the stairs and my hands were splattered with blue from having to paint the dining hall. I rubbed my sore neck, staring out at the ocean.

I wasn't much of a swimmer, I'll admit that. I liked to surf-and yes, I know, that requires swimming-but the ocean was a mysterious thing. I only went surfing at high tide. Then, at least, the water was coming in. I hated the tugging of its currents at low tide, the way it sucked at your legs, begging you stay. My father had run off seven years before, and to this day, I still cannot forgive the ocean for calling him to it and taking him away from my mother and I.

I'd never really been the forgiving type.

I stood and brushed off the butt of my jeans and gave the ocean one last glare. That's when I realized that I wasn't alone on this beach tonight.

The waves lapped at the body, whether dead or alive, I had no idea. I felt paralyzed, frozen with a taint of fear. I couldn't tell from where I was on the dunes if it was male or female.

Before my mind registered that my feet were moving, I was sprinting across the sand, adrenaline fueling me. Moonlight reflected off the ocean cruelly, making everything around me-the sand, the harmless ghost crabs, the rock barrier down by the cove-seem sinister and menacing. I shivered, and it wasn't from the chilly wind coming off the water.

I stopped roughly five feet away, breathing heavily. It was a haul from the dunes to the edge of the sea and I was already tired. I peered at the motionless body, arms in a _T_ on the sand, long hair fanning out around the head.

It was a girl.

I felt a blush rise to my face when I realized that she was completely and utterly naked. Thankfully, she was halfway in the water and sand covered much of her lower half. Stripes of hair criss-crossed her chest, so that I couldn't see anything scandalous.

She was a vision-her eyelashes, dark and sooty, cast shadows on her high cheekbones. Her, full lips, rosy red, were parted slightly. She had a cute button nose and arched eyebrows and a chin that hinted at stubbornness. I knelt closer to her and placed my ear near her nose, praying that she wasn't dead.

Nothing. My heart dropped to the pits of my stomach. I glanced around, seeing that other than the dead girl, I really _was_ alone. No one to help me.

I turned to look at her again, and suddenly, she inhaled sharply and her eyes fluttered open. Big, aquamarine doe eyes. My breathing hitched. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion and she raised a hand to my face. I jerked back. I wasn't one for touching.

Hurt flashed in her gaze. She withdrew her hand and attempted to sit up. I watched as she propped herself up on the sand, and with an _O _of amazement pasted on her lips, stared down at her legs.

Like she'd never seen them before.

"Uh, miss?" I kept my eyes on her as she tried to stand, the moon slipping behind a cloud, blanketing us in darkness. "Miss, are you all right?"

Her tongue poked out at the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on getting her feet under her. Her knees wobbled precariously like a young fawn's and she almost fell twice more. I didn't know what to do. Just a minute before, I had believed she was a goner. Now she was trying to stand and walk.

I reached out for her without thinking. "Miss, you shouldn't do that-"

She grabbed onto my hand as she tripped over her feet, colliding with me. My hand caught her bare shoulder, her body smashed against mine. A million fantasies ran through my head. I gulped and held still for a complete minute while she stilled in my arms. When I glanced down at her, I realized that the reason she had fallen was because she had passed out again, her neck arched back in sleep.

I blew out a sigh. "Well, this is just _dandy_."

It wasn't like I could just leave her out here for someone else to find, and it wasn't like I could waltz up at midnight to the Benbow Inn with a naked girl.

That's when I saw the towel fluttering on the deck railing of a nearby cottage. I hated to steal, but this was desperate situation. I wrapped my left arm around her limp body and dragged her across the sand to the cottage. All of the lights were out in the windows. I snagged the towel, and threw it around her, feeling a lot less red after she was covered. Heaving a sigh, I picked her up bridal style and headed back towards the Benbow.

Trudging up the dunes, I looked at the girl, still not believing that my evening had turned into this. I sighed again. _Mom's gonna love this, _I thought as I saw the lamp in my mother's bedroom click on. I braced myself as I kicked open the back door to the inn. It was going to be a _long_ night.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

_Jim_

"James Pleiades Hawkins!" my mother hissed in a whisper at the sight of me at the back entrance with the stranger in my grasp.

"Mom, she's hurt, bad," I explained, fixing her with a glare. She clutched the robe to her chest in silent rage as she held open the door for me and my tow-along. She shut and locked the door behind me, directing me to her bedroom that was on the other side of the kitchen. I clomped down the hall in my sand sodden boots and waited at the threshold for her. Her eyes held worry in them as she pushed past me, towards her bathroom.

"Where'd you find her?" she asked, turning the hot and cold handles quickly on the bathtub, water gushing out as she pushed her sleeves up to her elbows. A hot bath was exactly what the girl needed-her rosy lips were slowly turning blue, her cheeks losing all of their color.

"At the edge of the water," I answered. "She looked dead at first . . . and . . ." _And she was stark naked._ "And she didn't really have on any clothing so I covered her up with this towel."

Mom raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "And you'll wash and return the towel to its rightful owners, right?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Yeah. But that's the least of our worries right now."

Mom nodded. She gently touched the girl's motionless face. Her callused fingers, worn from years of scrubbing dishes and mopping floors, smoothed the girl's soaking wet bright red hair. "Poor thing," Mom said softly. "Must've been in a shipwreck or something."

I shrugged. "How could she have shown up on the beach, completely naked, on a beach after a shipwreck? I didn't think the ocean stripped you of your clothes."

My mother laughed, her eyes melancholy, just like they always were when we spoke of shipwrecks or even mentioned the ocean. She _loved_ the ocean. She still did, even after all of these years.

As soon as the water was good and hot, my mom ordered to close my eyes. She stripped the girl off the towel and helped me lower her into the tub. When that task was finished, she shooed me out of the bathroom, yelling at me under her breath for tracking sand all through the inn.

"Take those nasty boots off _right now_, James!" she hissed from her bathroom door. I caught sight of the girl's red hair over the edge of the tub. "And sweep up all of that sand! We don't want the guests thinking we're unkempt!"

I rolled my eyes again. We had the cleanliest, friendliest, and most-visited inn in town. Every family loved the Benbow. Once they came a summer, they came every summer after that. In fact, almost all the guests here had been coming for years. They all loved my mom like she was some long lost sister, aunt, or daughter. They all treated me like I was their own son, and therefore, responsibility-well, up until I stopped wanting their guidance, my mom's, or anyone's at all, really. I was seventeen now. My senior year of high school would be starting before I knew it and then I'd be stuck at a community college and working at a McDonald's until my four years were up and I was on my own. Independent and single. Only responsible for me, myself, and I.

Just like I had always wanted.

As I shucked off my boots and grabbed the dust pan and broom, I thought about all of the familiar faces at the inn that had become like family over the years. The only new guest had just checked in that evening, and she was a sleezy, somewhat attractive woman. My guess was that she was probably in her mid-twenties, with raven black hair, dark matching eyes, and a thin, pale body. She had a voice that made men want to follow; but not me.

I had sworn off women a _long_ time ago.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

_Ariel_

The last thing I remember before passing out was a boy's face.

The face had been tanned, sun-beaten, and chisel-jawed. He'd had brown hair. That's about as far as I remembered. The rest of the boy's features were blurry, fuzzy and unremarkable. The face had stuck in my whirlwind of dreams, reappearing often, next to my six sisters' and my fathers'. Then there was Sebastian's ruddy face, his eyes bulging out of his crab skull. He was yelling at me in his crazy Jamaican accent to think things through, to deny the sea witch and return home, where I was safe and sound beneath the waves.

But I hadn't obeyed.

When I finally broke away from my dreams, I had to hold back a squeal of joy. Though, I wouldn't have made a sound anyway. It was just sorta for the effect.

I had _legs. _Real _human legs._ I shocked off the blankets covering my newly acquired legs, raising them into the air and shaking them. They were marvelous. Beautiful. Amazing. And _soooo_ worth the price of my voice.

I wiggled my toes. _Toes._ They were so cute and short and I scrunched them up, just so overwhelmed with happiness. I'd heard a rumor once from Scuttle that there was this type of paint in a really teeny tiny bottle that humans used to put on their toenails and fingernails. How awesome and weird was that? I couldn't wait to find a bottle of this "fingernail polish" and try it on my very own toes!

I sat up. I hesitantly reached out and pinched the very top of my leg just to make sure it wasn't another dream. "Ouch!" I said with no sound. They were real!

A small knock caused me to look up and take note of my surroundings for the first time since I woke. I'd been so distracted by my new legs that I'd forgotten that I'd been saved by some unknown stranger. Obviously. The boy had reached out to help me as soon as I passed out from exhaustion after swimming without my tail for miles and miles to the shore.

"Uh, come in!" I tried to yell. Clamping my hand over my mouth, I had to remind myself that I didn't have a voice for a whole week. I didn't think it would be that hard to go without talking for a whole week; but it was already proving to be a pain in the neck.

The knock sounded again.

I scampered off of the bed, stumbled, fell, and caught myself on the bed's headboard. My legs were trembling, wobbling like a newborn crustacean's. I was wearing a thin, long dress without sleeves that was sheer enough you could see the outline of my breasts. Crossing my arms over my chest, I took the walk to the door one shaky step at a time.

By the time I got there, I was finally getting a hang of the walking thing. Not to mention, I now realized that I had this thing humans called "butts" or "rear ends" and many of the men called a women's "cute". Catching sight of myself in a full-length mirror, I turned to look at my own "butt".

Was it cute? Or just ordinary? Maybe even a little flat? I'd have to ask someone.

A third knock, this time, accompanied by a voice.

"Look, either you open the door, or I kick it down," a gruff, male voice said through the wood. A bit frightened, I froze. "I know you're up, and if you're naked again, cover up. I'm coming in."

I stood absolutely still, wary of the male's warning. The door didn't burst in like I had expected, but simply swung open benignly, revealing a somewhat familiar face that I couldn't place until they had replaced the small little object I recognized as a key.

The closer I scrutinized the male's face, the more it dawned on me. It was him! The boy who had saved me! He was saying something about breakfast and "getting dressed" when I suddenly threw my arms around his lean frame and squeezed him with all of my strength.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the boy said, prying me off. Pouting, I stared up at him curiously. Who didn't like hugs? I thought _everyone_ loved hugs. Even Sebastian, that cranky old crab, loved hugs!

He held my wrists at arm's length, pushing me back. The muscles in his forearms rippled beneath his tanned skin as he urged me away from him.

"No touching," he said sternly. "Okay? Like, seriously, it's my number one rule."

I nodded slowly. He watched me curiously as I stared openly back at him, committing him to memory, so that when I looked back on this time with the humans before becoming one of them, I'd remember each person along the way.

The boy was a bit taller than me. He had wiry arms, legs, and a lean but muscular torso. His jaw was just as I had remembered: sharp, square, and chiseled. He had a bit of what Scuttle said they called "stubble" and I liked to call "face fuzz" along his jaw. He had a perfectly straight nose. His eyes were a bright, steely gray-blue that seemed coldly calculating and judgmental. He had nice, full lips and thicker brown eyebrows that matched the color of his hair. Long bangs hung in his face, but some of the hair at the back of his head was "shaved", (or so Scuttle called it) with a tiny braided ponytail. Oh, and he had a ring through his left earlobe that made him look like a pirate.

All in all, I thought he was ruggedly handsome.

Again, the boy had been talking and I hadn't been listening. He seemed to have noticed.

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" he sighed.

I shook my head. Shrugging, I tried to say, _Sorry._ His eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"You can't talk?"

I shook my head again. _No, _I said. Or mouthed.

His steely eyes cut through me. "So you're mute _and_ clumsy?" He looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

I wanted to say _What's that supposed to mean?_ Instead, I settled for setting my fists on my hips. I'd only been human for about ten minutes and I was already easily falling into the rhythm of using just your body language to communicate what you wanted to say. Man, Ursula was so good at this human stuff!

He ran a hand through his hair, letting go of my wrists. "Well that's just great. Now, if you fall down and hurt yourself, we won't hear you scream." I didn't try to communicate anything this time. I simply watched him. He was mesmerizing-all these different emotions coming off in spurts and spasms. Humans were entertaining.

His eyes drifted over me, like he was analyzing my body. I felt immediately self-conscious as his eyes widened when he realized how thin my dress was. I crossed my arms again. Where was a good seashell bra when you needed one?

His eyes flitted to his the tips of his boots. "Um, my mom should have some clothes for you in that closet. They might be a little big being how small you are." The whole time he was talking, he didn't look at me once. Frowning, I wondered what had made him this way. Did I say something? No, I couldn't possibly have. I was _mute_.

He scratched the back of his head. Turning to leave while stuttering, he reached for the doorknob as he closed the door behind him.

_Wait!_ I cried at the last possible second. I snatched his sleeve. He turned, eyebrows raised. His eyes flashed like I was annoying him.

_What's your name?_ I asked.

The smile he gave me was so small, it looked like the ghost of one. "I'm Jim. If you need anything, call me." Laughing again, he said, "Never mind. You can't."

I laughed along. I liked his laugh. It was soft and husky. Holding out my hand like Scuttle had taught me to do when first greeting other humans, I said, _My name's Ariel._

That tiny smile grew into an almost real one. He had easily caught on to reading my just my lips.

"That's a pretty name," he said, shaking my hand.

We stared at each other silently for a whole, solid minute, our hands still intertwined between us. Blushing, I waited to see who would pull back first.

Jim did. His cheeks were pink beneath his tanned skin. He cleared his throat, did this weird little salute thing, and began to leave once more. "Like I said," he called out. "If you need anything . . . well, just ring this." He withdrew a small bell from his pocket and placed it in my waiting palm, careful to not let his skin touch mine. It was gold and warm from being in his pocket for a while.

I rubbed my fingertip over it and then shook it gently. A sweet, high note rang through the air. I grinned with delight. Another human treasure for my grotto!

When I looked up to say thank you, Jim had already disappeared.

I frowned, looking up and down the hall for him. When it was clear to me that he wasn't coming back, I shut the door, and rushed off to sort through the contents of the small room called a "closet" that Jim had mentioned.

As I dragged out a deep blue dress, I sighed happily and spun in front of the mirror with it clutched to my chest.

Oh, what an experience this was going to be!


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

_Jim_

As I walked back down the hallway, headed towards the stairs, I smiled absently to myself. I kept seeing the expression of total amazement and delight on the girl's face as she rung the bell near her ear. The bell had been attached to one of the guest's tiny, yappy little dog's collars and I had picked it up, meaning to return it to the owners. But when I had realized that the girl couldn't speak, it seemed better to give it to her. If she was in any trouble, all the girl would have to do was ring it.

_Not "the girl"_, I chided myself. _She has a name, you know._

And what an usual name, at that. _Ariel_. All the girls he had ever known were name Brittany, Katie, Stacy, or some other Plain Jane name. But _Ariel_. It was exotic, beautiful, and rolled right off the tongue. Her name fit her.

As I trotted down the stairs, I caught myself, more than once, thinking about the girl. Her aquamarine eyes that drew me in like the sea. Her adorable nose. Her crazy, unruly scarlet hair that cascaded all the way down her back in soft waves like at low tide. And how thin her sky blue nightgown was, showing curves and creamy skin any man could appreciate with just his eyes.

I shook my head to clear it. What was the matter with me? I shouldn't be looking at any woman that way. Women weighed you down. Women drug your heart along with them when they left you behind, broken and mangled. Women were a problem that I didn't want to deal with. _Ever_.

Arriving in the kitchen, I pushed my sleeves up to my elbows, striding towards my ever-flustered mother. Mom stood over the giant gas stove, muttering insanely to herself as our kitchen help, Addie, bustled about the kitchen, obeying orders as Mom spurted them off. Addie was about as mute as Ariel, with mousy brown hair, brown eyes, a rail-thin figure, and had become an orphan at age sixteen. She lived at the inn year round. Her mother used to work her as the help, but when she died of brain cancer, Addie took over. We offered board, money, and food, and that's all Addie wanted until she could find a place of her own.

I stood in the threshold of the kitchen, rolling my eyes at my mother's back. It was only eight in the morning, and she was already running around like a chicken with her head cut off. The guests weren't even awake yet. Breakfast was served at nine, and it was more of a breeze-through-when-you-feel-like-it than a sit down together as one big family. The children usually just ate a piece of toast smothered in strawberry jam and then ran out the door, pulling their parents along, to the beach or downtown for sight-seeing.

"Hi, Addie," I greeted the girl as she flew past, arms full of dried sheets.

She nodded at me, her eyes flitting from the floor to my face and back again. "H-Hello, M-Mr. Jim."

I raised an eyebrow. "Just Jim, remember?"

Addie nodded again, looking as flustered as my mother. She always had this nervous gleam in her eye-like she felt like a mouse being cornered by a cat. "Yes, sir, M-Mr. Jim. I-I-I mean _Jim._"

I smiled at her, but she bustled away before she could catch it. I watched my mother for a few more agonizingly long seconds before I decided it was a good time for me to take over and send her off to do something a little less stressful. She already had high blood pressure, and this task didn't seem to be helping the issue.

"Mom," I said, exasperated. She turned only slightly, her arms working over a huge pan of scrambled eggs.

"What is it, Jim?" she hissed.

I went over and took the job from her, snatching the spatula roughly from her hand to start cooking. Glancing at the knobs on the stove, I turned on slightly hotter and watched as the eggs began to cook faster. "How many times have I told you?" I said, smirking. "The higher the heat, the faster they cook."

She settled her fists on her hips. "Yes, but, the higher the heat, the faster they _burn_," she huffed. She looked worn out already, probably from taking care of Ariel late into the night. There were dark half-moons beneath her blue eyes; the crow's feet around her mouth looked deeper; and her forehead was all wrinkled up from worrying.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "No worries. I got this."

Mom rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in the air as if to say: _God help me_. "Fine. But if you burn those eggs-"

"Then I'll have to go buy more from the farmer's market," I finished tiredly. "Yes, Mom, I _know_. Now, go away. You're cramping my cooking mojo."

She raised an eyebrow.

Smirking again, I shooed her away with my spatula, urging her to go do something that only women know how to do, like make flower arrangements or mend a tablecloth. Huffing, she left, calling out, "Don't burn those eggs or I will have your hide, James Pleiades Hawkins!"

Glad that I was finally alone, I pushed the eggs around the pan. They looked pretty bland so I reached into the spice cabinet for the salt and pepper. Just as I was sprinkling some into the eggs, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I spun around, thinking I'd find my friend Ben, but instead, I found Ariel. I jumped, heart racing.

Startled, she jumped back too, stumbling and falling into the table. Her eyes widened as she caught herself, righting her stance. I reached forward to help her, but she waved me off. She mouthed something that I couldn't quite read, her legs wobbling beneath her.

"What was that?" I asked.

She sighed. Obviously, she wasn't used to being mute. I wondered what could have made her lose her voice-the trauma of a shipwreck? Too much seawater?

She waved her hand in the air as if to say: _Never mind._

Ariel then tried to take a step forward, but her legs were so weak, that she stumbled again. I barely caught her in time. The spatula flew out of my hand as they went under her arms, holding her up. She instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck to stay upright, her aquamarine eyes filled with surprise. Her knees gave out. She was pressed against me and I could feel every breath she took as her chest rose and fell. We stared at each other, our breathing so quiet that the only sound in the room was the eggs sizzling on the stove. I could feel her pulse against my palms, strong and wild beneath my touch.

A shot of warmth ran down my spine, and my inner thighs tingled. Feeling uncomfortable, I stepped back, letting go of her.

"You're quite the klutz, aren't you?" I barked a forced laugh, rubbing the back of my reddened neck. "I guess it's gonna take you a while to get your land legs."

Though she still looked surprised, her eyes somehow widened some more. It took her a moment to respond, and when she did, it seemed too eager. Brushing it off as a delayed reaction, I stooped to retrieve the fallen spatula. I could smell the eggs beginning to burn. Hastily turning back to my job, I grabbed a big white ceramic platter and began to scoop the eggs onto that.

Ariel appeared silently at my side, her eyes absorbing my every move. Pointing to the eggs, she mouthed, _What are those?_

I raised an eyebrow. "You don't know what eggs are? Where _are_ you from?"

She stiffened and shrugged. Averting her eyes, she leaned closer, snagged a piece of egg, and popped it into her mouth before I could stop her.

"Hey!" I said. "Can't you wait till breakfast is served?"

Ariel shrugged again. She gestured to her stomach and reached for another bite. _I'm hungry,_ her gesture said.

Sighing, I reached for a plate that used to have a print of ivy running around the circumference of the rim. All that was left after thousands of washings was a few random green spots. I put a handful of eggs on the plate and handed it to Ariel. Her eyes lit up as she took the plate, and without even waiting for a fork, began to dig in with vengeance. She mouthed something like, _Man, these are good!_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. I put my hands on her shoulders to stop her. "Let me get you a fork first, Godzilla," I rummaged through the utensil drawer and polishing one on my shirttail, I handed her a fork.

She about dropped her plate at the sight of it.

Setting the plate down on the counter, she grabbed the fork with a giant grin. I wondered for a nanosecond what in the crap was making her so thrilled until she raised the fork to her hair and began to comb through her scarlet locks.

My jaw dropped. I shook my head to try to clear the jumble of thoughts. "No!" I said, taking the fork from her. She immediately began to pout, trying to reach for it, mouthing something I didn't understand. "What is _wrong_ with you? You don't comb your hair with a _fork_! That's what brushes are for, you idiot!"

Her pout turned to anger as she crossed her arms. _Who are you calling an idiot, idiot?_ she shot back. Pointing to the fork, she repeated what she had been saying before.

"A _what_?"

She pulled at her hair irritably. She kept saying the same thing, but I still didn't understand.

"Hold on a second," I interrupted, holding up a hand to stop her. I snatched a pen and notepad off the counter, ripped off my mother's grocery list, and plopped it down in Ariel's small hands. I tapped the notepad. "Write down what you were trying to say, okay? If you can remember how to write."

Jutting her stubborn chin out, she angrily scrawled on the notepad. Her aquamarine eyes blazed as she wrote. For the first time since she had come into the kitchen, I noticed what she was wearing. A deep blue lacy sundress that ended right above her knee complimented her red hair and fair skin. She had a smattering of freckles across her button nose and delicate shoulders. She was also barefooted. The bell I had given her was now strung on a sea green ribbon around her neck, tinkling as she moved.

I swallowed. She was a beautiful girl, I wouldn't lie about that.

Turning it around for me to see, I read her neat cursive handwriting and about busted out laughing.

"What in the world is a _dinglehopper_?" I sputtered.

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the fork and shook it in my face.

I plucked it from her, examining the fork. "This is a fork_._ A _fork_!"

She shrugged and tapped the notepad. _Dinglehopper, _she insisted. Taking it back, she grabbed her plate of eggs and began to comb her hair as she skipped out of the room, her bell necklace jangling against her throat.

"Ariel, wait!" I called after her. "Where are you going?"

She popped back in the doorway and smiled. Pointed towards the beach. Said something about the ocean_._ I shook my head. "I don't think so. You're not leaving my sight until I'm sure that I can trust you not to hurt yourself."

She frowned, pouted, and pleaded with her eyes. I stayed firm on the topic even though I felt warmth flooding my veins. She was very tempting. A wolf in sheep's clothing. She could rope me in with those eyes and those full lips, and then I'd be a goner for sure.

"You can help me serve breakfast," I told her, picking up the egg platter. "And wash the dishes afterwards. And go to the police station with me to post a sign about you being a missing person. _Then,_ and only then, can we go to the beach."

She frowned deeper. Popping some eggs into her mouth, she sighed, resigned, when I crossed my arms and glared at her. She really was stubborn-maybe even as stubborn as I was. I had met my match.

_Fine,_ she said. She tugged at a knot in her hair with her fork. Eating the rest of her eggs, she bounced over to me, her mood already improved. She gestured to the kitchen and said, _What do you need me to do first?_

I grinned triumphantly. "You're on oatmeal duty." I tossed her an apron, and she barely caught it before flashing me a confused look. I chuckled. "Don't worry. We have the instant kind. But I don't want you ruining your pretty dress."

As I turned back to the egg platter, I swore that I saw her cheeks flush with pink. I headed towards the dining area, my own face reddened. I _had been flirting_ with some stranger, some girl that I found half-dead on the beach-after I had sworn off women.

What was wrong with _me_?


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

_Ariel_

After breakfast, and washing all of the dishes, Jim finally let me hang up my "apron", as he called it, and we left for the police station.

I'd dashed down the wooden steps of the inn and right out onto what Jim said was "cement" or "asphalt" before he could catch me. But as soon as my tender, new human feet touched the "asphalt", I screamed as loudly as a silent person could.

Jim ushered me back to the cool, smooth wood of the deck area around the inn, shaking his head irritably. "I tried to tell you to wait," he growled. Reaching inside and bending down, he popped back up and threw a pair of rubber slabs at my blistered feet. "These are shoes, if you don't remember. You put them on your feet so that your feet won't get hurt or burned, okay?"

I nodded, a tear spilling down my cheek. He sighed, reached up, and brushed it away with a callused thumb distractedly. I felt the blush stinging my cheeks as he bent to slide my feet gently into the flip flops, without hurting them further. My skin tingled wherever he touched me, and I had to look away from his piercing eyes when he straightened.

"Ready?" he asked, trotting down the sagging steps with ease.

I ambled down after him and nodded vigorously. "Ready," I mouthed. I bit my lip. I wanted to slap myself because I was smiling like an idiot.

And from the look he gave me, he thought so, too.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

_Jim_

Ariel skipped next to me, stuck in her own little daydream world, the whole way there.

You'd think that with the way her legs were all wobbly this morning, she'd still be hobbling around, but she seemed to be getting the hang of walking again. Her lacy blue dress fluttered around her legs in the breeze as she swung her arms and bobbed her head to the tune inside her mind. Her scarlet hair was shining with a golden sheen under the early morning sun. I couldn't help but smile when I watched her, all giddy and joyous and crap. She kept running into people because she was lost in her imagination, and I kept laughing as I pulled her out of the tourists' way.

Every time I touched her, she turned as red as her hair. She didn't seem used to a guy just casually reaching over and touching her arm. I soon avoided any contact at all because I didn't really like it in the first place. Or so I told myself.

The police station came into sight, hazy in the impenetrable heat. It was funny how hot it was, and yet there were people crowding the streets-fanning themselves with brochures and eating half-melted ice cream. The small beach town of Beaufort on the planet Earth was always crowded at this time of the year. Thankfully, my mother and I would be returning to our own planet, Montressor, next fall and I would be starting my scholarship at the International Space Academy. We'd been on Earth for almost four years, since my grandmother left my mother the inn after she died, and Mom hadn't wanted to leave the inn only to come back a couple months later in the spring to re-open. So we had stayed on Earth, agreeing that we would return to Montressor the minute the inn was closed and ready to sell next year.

I held open the door for Ariel. She happily walked through, gasped, and backed out, and then repeated the process, an amazed look on her face. The more she did it, the more over-thrilled she became.

"What is it?" I asked, watching as she went in the office and came back out for the tenth time in a row.

She made a lot of gestures and waved her hands a lot. Finally, when I didn't understand a bit of her wild flailing, she made a loud _whoosh_ sound with her otherwise silent mouth.

I raised an eyebrow. "You're fascinated by the air conditioning?"

Her eyes went blank and she mouthed _Air conditioning?_ I nodded and sighed.

"You really don't get out much, do you?" I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her inside. I plopped her down into a worn waiting area chair beside an old lady with beady, hawk eyes. I wagged my finger at her. "Don't move a muscle until I get back, okay?"

She nodded and then immediately froze in her seat as I turned and marched up to the desk, where a pudgy policeman sat, munching at a bag of Cheeto's.

"Hi, Phil."

"Hey, Jimbo," Phil greeted me, licking at his orange fingers loudly. "What can I do for you today?"

I ran my hands through my hair, sighing once again. "It's a _long_ story."


	7. Chapter Six

**Author's Note:**

**Hi guys! Sorry! This is just a re-post. Someone asked a VERY good question. I totally forgot for a entire chapter (brain fart, anyone?) that Ariel couldn't talk. The reason that the old lady can hear her or understand her, is because she's a witch. But the good kind. Like Glinda. And, the italics is all of Ariel's "dialogue".**

***slaps self***

**So thanks SO MUCH for reading! It means a lot! I will be updating as soon as possible . . . and I feel really bad for those of you who are supporting this story and are anxiously waiting for the next installment. I am actually writing other stories (my own, original stories with my own, original characters) and they are my main focus currently!**

**XOXO, OceansAria**

Chapter Six

_Ariel_

I stayed absolutely and positively still as Jim walked up to the station's front desk and began to talk to the officer.

A cool, frail hand touched my arm. "You know, dearie, I don't think he meant it literally."

I didn't dare loosen my tight hold on my muscles. I didn't want to risk being the receiver of Jim's rage. He seemed to be holding in a lot of anger; bottling it up deep in his heart and holding it close like a precious gem. I didn't know why he was angry, but I was dying to ask.

The hand slid down to hold mine. "Dearie, you should stop sitting that way. You look constipated."

I laughed and all of my muscles went loose as I slumped back against the chair. The old lady laughed, too, and patted my hand.

"He's very handsome, dearie," she said. Her voice was high and shaky and her skin was liverspotted. When I turned to look her in the eyes, I saw the eyes of a hawk-beady and watchful beneath all the folds of wrinkled skin. She had stark white hair and matching thick eyebrows. Her hair was covered by a shawl and she wore a long, black dress and boots, which seemed insensible in this horrible heat.

_Who?_ I asked stupidly.

She lifted her chin towards the desk. I glanced towards it, and my body blazed when I realized she was talking about Jim. I smiled without thinking and squeezed her hand. _Yeah,_ I sighed dreamily. _He is._

"Is he your boyfriend?"

I whipped back around, feeling panicked. _No!_ I cried, my chair clattering around beneath me as I spun around in it. I saw Jim look over his shoulder at the racket, concern written in the creases of his brow, but he didn't come over or question when I waved him off frantically.

The old lady chuckled. "But you wish he was."

I shook my head. _No, I don't. I just met him._

"And yet you obviously are already attracted to him."

I hesitated and then sighed. _Yes._

"When did you meet him?"

_Last night_, I paused, thinking. _Well, more like this morning. But that isn't long enough for me to develop feelings for him. Especially for him to become my boyfriend._

"Ah, you are mistaken," the old lady grinned, exposing only a handful of teeth left in her mouth. "Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'love at first sight'?"

I frowned. _No. Where I come from, all of our marriages are arranged._

"Well, it means exactly what it says. When you see that certain someone, you immediately fall in love with them, deeply and truly."

I blushed and fiddled with my hair with my free hand. Was I in love with Jim? _No_. It couldn't be. I just thought he was an attractive man. And he was. _Extremely_. He was sweet beneath that I'm-so-tough front, and his eyes held a spark of kindness that made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, stirring up newborn emotions deep in the pit of my belly.

_I don't like Jim that way. He's just a friend. More like a mere acquaintance._

She patted my knee. "Oh, dearie, but you will. I promise you, as time moves on, you will fall so deeply in love with him that it will break your heart into a million pieces to leave him."

I gulped, blushing fiercely. This old lady sounded particularly sure of herself, and she said something about me having to leave. Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle, and I were the only ones that knew about my limited time on the shore. I had exactly three weeks to get a human man to fall in love with me and kiss me. If any human man just simply kissed me, it wouldn't work. They had to be in love with me.

_Who _are _you?_ I whispered. I glanced around to make sure that no one else in the waiting room heard us.

She grinned that toothless grin. "Dearie, I'm just a wise old friend."

And then she winked and disappeared from sight with a _pop,_ the smell of burnt hair the only evidence that she had ever truly existed.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

**Ariel**

After Jim finished up at the police station, he guided me out into the baking heat of the summer day, and towards the heart of the town.

Everywhere I turned, there were new things that Scuttle had never even mentioned. Like these slim little things called cell phones that came in array of colors, shapes, and sizes. Jim even had one-but he said it was older than most. He even showed me how to use it.

Being so close to Jim made me think about what the old witch had said back at the station. His skin radiated warmth like the sun, but it was a gentle kind of warmth, not so harsh. His warmth didn't make me-as Scuttle had described it-"sweat". He smelled like something I could only describe as _clean_, like the sheets on the bed in my room at the Inn, and it was sweet and intoxicating. Whenever he touched me, my whole body tingled and I had to hide my blush.

As we entered a small place called a "dry cleaners", and I watched Jim walk up to the counter to talk to the manager, I realized that the old woman was right. _I already view Jim as more than a friend._

This thought made my skin turn cold, like it had been in the depths of the sea. My throat felt thick and lumpy. I couldn't _love _Jim. He wasn't like anything I wanted in a guy. He was rude, impatient, rough, and never really spoke his mind. He wasn't talkative. He didn't express himself. He wasn't proper material for a princess of the Atlantic.

Then and there, I decided that I wouldn't think about Jim in that way ever again. I may have been attracted to him now, but we would never work. And besides, I'd only been on shore one day! The only man I'd met was Jim! I had to get out and meet more guys before I made a decision on who to love for the rest of my life on land.

I was very set on my decision until Jim turned back around and focused those piercing gray-blue eyes on me, motioning for me to hop up from my seat and come with him.

Why oh why did my heart have to start beating faster?

I clenched my fists. He held open the door for me, and I blushed uncontrollably.

If only I could control it!

* * *

The rest of my first day on land flew past.

I followed Jim around as he ran his errands. After the police station and the dry cleaners, we went to the post office, a bakery (where I had to beg for him to get me this amazing little thing called a cupcake), and then he got this thing called a "text" on his phone from his friend Ben.

"Sorry, Ariel," he said. With his free hand, he touched my elbow and started to guide us in the opposite direction of the Inn. "Ben needs me. I promise it'll be quick and then we can go straight to the beach like I said."

I had to hold back a smile. In my head, I'd been making a list of pros and cons. _Another pro: Jim keeps his promises. _Then, suddenly angry with myself, I jerked out of Jim's grasp and walked the rest of the way to his friend's abode deliberately a step behind him. He only gave me a curious, slightly amused glance and let me be. I tried to convince myself that I hated him for being so nice to me, but I just couldn't.

Jim's friend, Ben, had a tiny little gray cottage on the sea. The porch was rickety and unkempt, palm trees withered by the dirt drive, and all of the windows were open to the salty breeze coming off the water. Curtains that used to be a sunny yellow, now a dingy gray, fluttered like ghosts up above our heads. I started to ascend the steps, but Jim stopped me and pointed towards a large, wide door.

"Ben's always in the garage," he explained.

I raised an eyebrow. _What's a garage?_

"It's like a big room for cars and people's junk." Jim smirked. "Since Ben's mom is gone all day with her job, he keeps himself busy out there."

When I continued to look confused, he just chuckled and grabbed my wrist.

"C'mon," he urged. "You'll have to see for yourself."

I jumped at his touch and scooted out of his reach. His eyes seemed to darken for just a second, but it might've been my imagination. He wasn't making it easy for me with all of the physical contact.

Jim didn't speak to me again as he knocked on the garage door, which made a hollow _bang, bang, bang_ sound. Clanking and whirring resounded from the other side of the door, as well as a strange type of music that sounded like screaming seahorses. I winced, my ears still sensitive to all of these earth noises. Jim knocked again, harder this time, and not a minute later, the music cut off. A crash and a mumbled curse followed. Finally, the door slid upward with a jar and a boy who's head barely reached Jim's chest squinted up at us through a thick pair of glasses. His square face was dirty with grease and grime. His skin was the color of caramel, and his bright green eyes startled me. He had skinny arms and skinny legs, and his rusty brown hair was sticking up in every which direction.

"Jim!" the boy cried, immediately jumping on my guide and squeezing him with all of his might. Jim didn't return the hug; instead, he endured it though he looked like he wanted to shrug it off. Something in his small smile told me that he wouldn't do it because he was fond of Ben.

"Hey, Ben," Jim greeted the boy sullenly.

Ben reluctantly let go of Jim and excitedly started chatting about some sort of project he'd been working on. Jim listened intently, his expression concentrated and his chin resting on his fist. The entire time Ben talked, I stood there awkwardly, feeling invisible. I didn't mind, but I felt like I was intruding in a way. And my skin was just itching for saltwater. With the sea so close, it was hard to control the urge to kick off my shoes and go running into the waves.

Eventually, Ben had to take a breath, and Jim cut in. "Hey, kid. Instead of explaining all of this to me, why don't you just show me?"

Ben nodded eagerly. "Sure, Jimmy! Of course!" Then he turned and took off into the depths of the garage, disappearing as fast as a dolphin.

I caught Jim's eye as we walked into the garage to wait for Ben. _Jimmy_? I mouthed around my smirk.

He shrugged. "I've told the kid a million times that my name's Jim, but he just refuses to call me anything but Jimmy." He sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "He also doesn't understand my strict 'no touching' rule."

I laughed soundlessly. He cracked a small smile. Warmth built in my stomach and churned like the ocean during a hurricane, but I tried to tamper it down. There surely was a connection between us, if only a meager one. I couldn't shake the feeling that I should be less comfortable around Jim, just meeting him and all. Instead, I felt an ease that usually came with a lifetime of companionship.

However, a moment later, Ben returned and I was invisible again.

* * *

When Jim and I finally got back to the Inn, the sun was setting and the savory smells of food drifted on the breeze and my stomach rumbled hungrily. My new feet and legs were quaking with the effort of walking around all day, and when I got a good look at my toes and heels, they were riddled with these horrible little lumps Jim said were called "blisters".

Jim helped me up the stairs. The dining room for the guests was full to its limit, and the hungry tourists gobbled down whatever food Mrs. Sarah set down in front of them after their long day of exploring the beach town. Jim put away the dry cleaning and the other things he'd picked up at different stores before setting off to help his mother in the kitchen. "Come on, Ariel," he called to me over his shoulder. "I'll get you something to eat back in the kitchen."

I nodded. I trailed after him to the kitchen, where he had me sit down at the small table and served me up a plate of salad and a bowl of something he called "spaghetti". Both were delicious, and within no time, I was asking for seconds. He raised an eyebrow and his eyes flitted over my body. "For such a tiny girl, you sure eat a lot," he mumbled before refilling my bowl with more noodles and meat sauce.

The guests left the dining room just as quickly as they had came. They left their mess for Mrs. Sarah, Addie, and Jim to clean up. I contributed by putting on the same apron from before and helped gather the dishes onto a tray to wash. When Mrs. Sarah gently shooed me away, Jim smiled and told me that I was free to go to the beach.

Without a backwards glance, I flung off the apron and sprinted out the back door. I was more than ready to find Sebastian and Flounder and tell them everything about my first full day as a human.

* * *

_Ehh. Short update. Next chapter will be in Jim's POV. Sorry for the long wait!_

_Thanks for being patient!_

_XOXO, OceansAria_


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